Dear Creatives,
As we launch, I must admit I feel a bit of angst over the new brand of The Hallelujah House. It’s not that I haven’t experienced changing the blog—as the followers know I like to change things up every 4 years or so—but I’m launching, this time, with a subject I’ve barely scratched the surface of in my personal life. I’m not a trained artist. Instead, I’m an artist who gets an inspiration while doing laundry… or driving… or by seeing a photograph, and that inspiration keeps coming back to mind until I put it somewhere. At the canvas, I pray. It is a place I steadily talk to God as I’m painting…and when I hit a rough spot with my limited skillset, I step back and ask for eyes to see…and He’s faithful and I see. How do I teach my process to people who want to learn how to paint? I can’t. I’m the last person who can teach technique or skills—let’s get that out there right up front. But I can tell you this: pray. If I can encourage you in what works for me, it’s prayer, a willing heart to listen, and then to move forward in faith. That’s it.

This morning in my quiet time, I was feeling a bit insecure, ill-equipped, and maybe even a bit of an imposter, so I prayed and asked God, “Are you sure? But it’s me…ADHD Tammy. Look at my desk—an absolute mess covered with multiple projects, and this type of website needs someone who’s organized. This Hallelujah House is like a bus station, sending thistutorial to Instagram, the other to You Tube, and podcast to podcast channels, picking up subscribers and followers to return them to the station.”

As I wrestled with God over my inadequacies, I looked up at my gathering board that hangs above my desk and saw this tiny piece of paper stuck in there, where I wrote this reminder to myself. “When you feel inadequate and ill-equipped, you may just be in the place God wants you to be, to depend on Him. The mysterious call of Christ.” To be transparent, I don’t know where I scribbled that from, maybe from Lysa Terkeurst, since I’ve been working through her book, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God and Walk in Faith.  (I recommend it if you’re looking for a new Bible study for the fall.) But God knew this wrestling match would happen and used this snippet to speak to me this morning. As I depend on Him, my bus station will eventually iron out all its kinks in scheduling and delays and it will get easier because He promises His yolk is light.

I remembered those in the Bible whom God called out of their comfort zones and by faith they responded (Hebrews 11). Abraham packed up all his belongings and followed God to settle in a foreign land, without questioning. Noah built an ark to save his family from a flood although it had never rained. Moses obeyed God by leading the Israelites out of Egypt and into the wilderness. Each of them probably felt insecure, as I do this morning.

And then I remember, “If you build it, they will come…” But wait, that’s not God, that was Kevin Costner in Field of Dreams (great movie by the way)!

All in all, I’m not supposed to teach technique; my job is to remind the body of Christ we are created in the image of God, remind them God offers refreshment and respite from the dark sandstorms swirling about. Allowing God to lead you to the refreshing waters of creativity is a result of abiding in Him. Today, many adults have forgotten the satisfaction of creating something with their hands or mind. The Hallelujah House is here to remind you. And here is a Terkeurst quote from the book mentioned above, “Being a follower of Christ is a continual process of learning, growing, stretching, and trusting.” Building this House has done this for me, and I hope it will encourage you.

Speaking of encouragement, please encourage the artists. How can you encourage them?

1. Leave a comment on and “Like” their tutorial videos.
2. Go to their personal social media pages and follow them. (Links provided in their bios on our Home page.)
3. Thank them for taking the time to share their techniques with you. Remember they may be feeling a bit uncertain in putting their work out there for people to critique.

How can you encourage me? Subscribe to The Hallelujah House. For my Facebook readers, subscribe to the site. Also, if someone wants to come clean my desk off and get me organized… No? Okay…

Thank you to my faithful subscribers. I hope you’ll continue with us on this new adventure.

I can’t close without mentioning our monthly memory verse.

For the month of October, you will see this verse appear in tutorials, “And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” James 3:18 ESV.

Have a Peaceful, Inspired, and Blessed October!

Tammy